Out Of The Spotlight 20 Stars Who Live As Far Away From Hollywood As Possible
Though spending time in entertainment industry pillars like Hollywood and Manhattan is a necessity for those who work in show business, an increasing number of celebrities are choosing to live far away from the hustle and bustle.
Los Angeles boasts plenty of lavish mansions and is a quick drive away from work for many actors and musicians, but it's also home to an aggressive culture of paparazzi and celebrity exploitation. To improve their lifestyles and general wellbeing, many stars prefer to live as far away from Hollywood as they can.
Some celebrities try living in L.A. once they first break into the business, but ultimately find that they don't gel with the vibe, and end up returning home to cities like Louisville, Kentucky, London, England, and Melbourne, Australia.
Then there are those stars who have homes in L.A. and New York, but also own properties elsewhere in the world and spend as much time in the latter as they can. While some stars have followed lovers to faraway places like France or Switzerland, a few of the biggest stars opt for quiet towns in which no curious fan would ever think to look for a glimpse of their idol.
Keep reading to find out which stars live a world away from Tinseltown.
20 Natalie Portman Is Far Away In Europe
Though she still has to fly into Los Angeles every now and then for work commitments, Natalie Portman now lives in Paris. She made the move to be with her husband Benjamin Millepied, who is a French native. We could think of far worse places to live than the City of Lights!
One of the benefits of France, in particular, is that it offers stricter privacy laws for the benefit of celebrities, so Portman's private life isn't as invaded while she's away from Hollywood.
The other upside to living in Paris is that romantic getaways like Venice are just a quick flight away!
19 Tina Turner Ditched Hollywood For A Swiss Mansion
Natalie Portman isn't the only star to ditch Hollywood in favor of a European permanent escape. Tina Turner left the United States entirely to live in Switzerland with her husband, Erwin Bach. The couple apparently lives in a mansion that overlooks Lake Zurich. Turner and Bach, a music executive, have been dating since 1986, the year after they met at a record label party in London.
They tied the knot in 2013 during a ceremony in Switzerland, although Turner has been living at the lake house since 1990. She officially gave up her US citizenship in 2013 and successfully passed a test to gain citizenship in Switzerland.
18 Julia Roberts Is At Ease In Taos
Julia Roberts might have seemed comfortable in Hollywood while starring in Pretty Woman, but in real life, she prefers residing in a much more peaceful location. Today, the Georgia native lives on a ranch in Taos, New Mexico, with her husband Daniel Moder.
In 2003, Oprah interviewed Roberts at her ranch, and revealed that it was “a universe apart.”
She went on to describe Roberts as “completely at ease” while on the ranch. “… wearing flip-flops, drawstring pants, and a tee, introducing me to her two geese, Bingo and Pajamas… ,” Oprah described. Taos is situated close to the Rio Grande River and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, whose beauty has attracted other celebrities to the town.
17 Adele Became Home Sick In Los Angeles
Though she's seen success that other artists only dream of, Adele has never been a fame junkie. She prefers a quiet lifestyle where she can go where she wants and do what she wants without being followed, which is why she didn't fall in love with Los Angeles after she moved there.
The Sun reported that the global superstar was homesick before long, and ended up moving away from California, back to London. While there are also paparazzi and tabloid culture in the English capital, the singer found comfort in the familiar, preferring it to the foreign boulevards of L.A.
16 John Mayer Fell In Love With Paradise Valley, Montana
Being as high-profile as he is, John Mayer definitely seems like the kind of celebrity who is most comfortable in the heart of Hollywood. But as it turns out, the singer prefers the small-town life to that Tinseltown buzz.
Following throat surgery in 2013, Mayer moved to Paradise Valley, Montana, where he immediately thrived.
He cherished the opportunity to relax and move at a slower pace and loved living there so much that he even named an album after Paradise Valley. The town is located between two entrances to Yellowstone Park and is pretty much paparazzi-free.
15 Diddy Spends As Much Time As Possible Home In Miami
Much to the surprise of many fans, Diddy is actually a private person. Though he makes headlines for attending events like the Met Gala and the Grammys, he also likes to take time out from his busy schedule and relax at his home. The musician apparently calls Miami home and can be found there with his family whenever he doesn't have to work.
He may have properties elsewhere, but it's always Miami that calls him back. It's also been reported that Diddy sold his properties in New York City and Alpine, New Jersey, in favor of spending more time in Miami.
14 Hugh Jackman Still Lives At Home In Melbourne, Australia
He's always in and out of Los Angeles (and other major cities throughout the world) for work, but when push comes to shove, Hugh Jackman prefers to live in Melbourne, the second-largest city in his native Australia.
While many actors from Australia and elsewhere in the world make the decision to move to L.A. permanently to benefit their work, Jackman has decided that he's the happiest in Melbourne, so Melbourne is where he'll stay.
Other celebrities who have ties to Melbourne, located in the state of Victoria, include Chris, Liam and Luke Hemsworth, singer Kylie Minogue, and actress Cate Blanchett.
13 Kentucky Is Where J.Law's Heart Is
It makes sense that Jennifer Lawrence owns property in Hollywood since she is one of the biggest actresses of the age. But she is often spotted in Louisville, Kentucky, her home town, hanging out with family and making quick Target runs. In 2013, the actress gushed about Louisville to a local TV station.
“Louisville is actually really respectful. I can normally go out to dinner with my family and everybody is really nice and leaves me alone.” The actress also revealed that while she may have homes elsewhere, Kentucky is the only place she'll “ever identify with as home.”
12 Jon Bon Jovi Is Still A New Jersey Boy
For 20 years, Jon Bon Jovi has lived with his family in the same mansion in Middletown, New Jersey. In 1995, he built the land and started building the home that would always provide comfort from the craziness of Hollywood and New York City.
The legendary rock star was actually born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and though he's become a music icon, has no interest in moving away from the place he calls home.
One of his business ventures is a New Jersey-run community restaurant that he owns with his wife, Dorothea, called JBJ Soul Kitchen.
11 Nicole Kidman And Keith Urban Keep It Country In Tennessee
The A-list couple of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban don't suit Hollywood. Though they are both regulars on the red carpet, they prefer a more relaxed vibe than what L.A. has to offer and instead reside in Leipers Fork, Tennessee. They live on a farm with their children, which is located about 45 minutes from Nashville-certainly handy for Urban, who's a country music star!
The community is made of about 650 people, and so Leipers Fork is really too small to be considered a town. Still, the couple is often spotted out and about, far from the prying lenses of the paparazzi.
10 Meryl Streep Likes The Peace In Connecticut
Meryl Streep has managed to have a stellar acting resume and keep her personal life out of the tabloids, and part of that probably comes down to her living a world away from the buzz of Los Angeles, in a small town in Salisbury, Connecticut.
The New York Times reported that Streep, together with her husband Don Gummer, paid $1.8 million for an estate in Salisbury that includes a lake and a sheep farm.
Totally relaxing! In 2016, Streep was even inducted into the Connecticut Hall of Fame. The couple also owns properties in New York's Tribeca neighborhood and California's Pasadena.
9 Blake Lively And Ryan Reynolds Prefer Upstate NY To Manhattan
After starring on Gossip Girl, Blake Lively came to symbolize the Upper East Side of New York City for millions of fans around the world. But as it turns out, she and husband Ryan Reynolds actually prefer the quiet life in upstate New York to the fast pace of Manhattan.
A source revealed that the couple picked a very traditional house in Pound Ridge, “with character, not a trendy, modern house.” In 2015, Reynolds himself admitted, “We don't lead a wild and crazy life.” It actually takes an hour to get to their digs from Manhattan.
8 Johnny Depp Prefers The Island Life
While he was with ex-partner Vanessa Paradis, Johnny Depp called her native France home. The star has never been comfortable with being a famous heartthrob, though, and craved the privacy that came with living away from L.A.
But one of the benefits of all that success is that you can afford your own private island in the Bahamas, and that's exactly where he went to escape the press a few years later.
Following the breakdown of his relationship with Paradis and his marriage to Amber Heard, Johnny went rogue. “I don't think I'd ever seen any place so pure and beautiful,” he revealed to Vanity Fair in 2009.
7 Oprah's Home Away From Home Is In Washington
One of the wealthiest women in show business, Oprah Winfrey can no doubt afford properties all over the world. It is said that her favorite refuge is her remote home on Orcas Island, Washington. The media mogul owns a hideaway mansion on the island that features half a mile of private shoreline. “Finished internally with rare reclaimed woods, hand-forged iron work and wooden floorboards reclaimed from the old Sears' building in Chicago, the home has a luxurious cabin feel,” Over Sixty reported. Other stars who have made the move to the Pacific Northwest include singer Josh Groban and actress Kat Dennings.
6 Brendan Fraser Stays Off The Radar In Bedford, NY
A lot of millennials have been left wondering what happened to Brendan Fraser, whose professional trajectory looked promising when he starred in several blockbuster hits in the late 1990s and early 2000s including The Mummy and The Mummy Returns.
It seems that the actor has opted for a private and simple life out of the public eye since he's relocated to Bedford in upstate New York.
His ex-wife and sons live close by in Greenwich, Connecticut. When he's not acting, Fraser spends his time with his horse on his property and enjoys archery as a means of relaxing.
5 Chris Hemsworth Is Raising His Family In Australia
In 2014, Thor star Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky decided to escape the craziness of Hollywood. Today they live with their three children in Byron Bay on the coast of New South Wales, in Hemsworth's native Australia. “We were living shoulder to shoulder in the suburbs and thought that's not how we want our kids to grow up,” Hemsworth told Modern Luxury. “Moving to a kind of farm setup back here on the coast in Australia has been the best thing.” The actor also revealed that he found living in Hollywood “a bit suffocating.”
4 John Travolta Can't Fit His Plane On A Hollywood Property
They make their mansions pretty big in Hollywood, but evidently, not big enough to attach an airport to.
John Travolta is probably the most famous pilot on earth and lives on a spacious property in Florida where he can fit his planes.
“We designed the house for the jets and to have at our access the world at a moment's notice, and we succeeded at that,” Travolta told Today. The actor apparently owns five aircraft that he uses for both business and pleasure. His home features two runways that lead right to his front door. What more could you want?
3 Eminem Can't Part With Detroit
As one of the most successful and popular rappers of all time, Eminem can pretty much afford to live wherever he wants. And that happens to be right where he started in his native Detroit. One of the themes of his music is becoming a positive representation of Detroit and having pride for his city, so it's easy to see why he prefers living there to Hollywood or New York City. In the past, Eminem has even been spotted at Detroit Pistons NBA games. At this point, we're going to assume that the rapper will never leave his home city.
2 Vera Farmiga Lives In Woodstock, New York
Though it has a reputation as a “hippie town,” Woodstock, New York is actually a high-end getaway for the rich and famous.
Vera Farmiga is one of the stars who prefers the quiet pace of life in Woodstock as opposed to the kind of lifestyle she'd find in Manhattan or Los Angeles.
Other celebrities who have homes in the area include Anne Hathaway and Willem Dafoe, but Farmiga resides there full time with her family. She does have to travel when it's time to do press or shoot a new movie, but since she gets to spend most of her time in peace away from the paparazzi, it's worth it.
1 Sandra Bullock Prefers Her New Orleans Home To Her Home In L.A.
Sandra Bullock chooses to live away from the spotlight. She has properties all over the United States, including in Texas, Georgia, New York, and Los Angeles, but her favorite abode is in New Orleans. The actress spends most of her time there with her boyfriend Bryan Randall and her two children. The family apparently lives in an eloquent Victorian Home in the Garden District of the city. Other stars who call New Orleans home include Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who bought a mansion on Harmony Street in 2015, Solange Knowles, and actor John Goodman, who is often seen walking his dog around the neighborhood.
